Author

HELCOM RED LIST Biotope Expert Team

Textual description

Baltic photic bottoms at least 90 % coverage of shell gravel. Epibenthic chordates cover at least 10% of the seabed,and more than other attached erect groups. Out of the epibenthic chordates, Vase tunicate (Ciona intestinalis) constitutes at least 50 % of the biomass.

Physical environment

Substrate is shell gravel.

Characteristic species

Ciona intestinalis

Geographic range

Known from German waters in the Baltic Sea

Anthropogenic threats

Increase in atmospheric CO2 (Ocean acidification)

Correspondence with other classification systems

HELCOM 1998:

2.6 Shell gravel bottoms

2.6.2Shell gravel bottoms in sublittoral photic zone

HELCOM 2007:

Shell gravel bottoms

habitat under threat and/or in decline in all areas of occurrence: The Southern Baltic Proper, The Gulf of Gdansk, Bay of Mecklenburg, Kiel Bay, Little Belt, Great Belt, The Sound, Kattegat